1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a packaging machine of the type primarily designed to package round or circular objects in a heat shrinkable or thermoplastic sheet like material wherein formation of the material to the general configuration of the package is accomplished through the specific application of heat either for the purpose of severing the material or specifically shrinking it to conform to the desired shape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In all the industrialized nations of the world the packaging industry is constantly playing an increasingly important role in determining the consumer acceptability of various products designed to be presented on the open marketplace. Accordingly, manufacturers and/or distributors seriously consider various packaging methods and apparatus not only from the standpoint of aesthetic appearance of the packaged article but from the standpoint of economics in packaging costs, handling of the packaged product during display, storage or transportation and condition of the packaged object during storage or handling.
Serious consideration of various packaging apparatus is particularly important when dealing with objects having specifically peculiar or generally hard to handle configurations. Literally innumerable objects are constantly being packaged by an equally wide variety of methods and apparatus. It has been found that the packaging of generally circular objects or objects having a curvilinear border or periphery present certain problems inherent to these objects because of their specific configuration. In addition, objects such as rolls of tape, etc., include the additional characteristic of having certain surfaces thereof being subject to "sticking" or adhering to other rolls of tape due to the adhesive characteristic of the tape itself. More specifically, the lateral surfaces of certain adhesive rolls of tape are capable of becoming adhered to one another or to other objects, which causes a problem during separation of such rolls for actual use.
The packaging industry has conventionally tried to eliminate this problem by inserting various sheets of material in between the various rolls when the rolls are packaged together in a single package in a substantially stacked array. The material from which such sheets are made is normally formed from a non-adherent material and is also configured to substantially correspond to the configuration of the roll itself. Such sheet material is normally placed into engagement with both lateral surfaces of a roll of tape irrespective of whether a plurality of rolls are packaged together or not.
This prior art method, while substantially effective to prevent adherence of the rolls, adds certain cost factors to the packaging of this type of product as well as expanding the time utilized for packaging such objects.
Accordingly, there is an obvious need in the packaging industry for an apparatus and/or method of packing rolls of adhesive tape or like products wherein certain surfaces thereon have a tendency to become adhered to other similar objects. Such desired packaging requirements should take into consideration the general circular or curvilinear exterior configuration of the rolls during packaging. Further, such packaging apparatus should have sufficient versatility to package together a plurality of such rolls wherein the number comprising the plurality may greatly vary.
A review of prior art packaging apparatus reveals that a number of packaging apparatus have specifically been designed for the packaging of a wide variety of roll type articles. In particular, the patent to Hartiefb, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,394, discloses a method and machine for wrapping articles with a sheet of material wherein the articles have a generally circular or roll type configuration. However, Hartiefb is not concerned with the separation of specific lateral surfaces of the various objects from one another when a plurality of such articles are packaged together.
In addition, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,857 to Tobey, discloses a method of using a heat shrinkable film for packaging a plurality of objects wherein specific apparatus is defined for trimming and/or severing material so as to define an ultimate package having a desired configuration, etc.
However, none of the above set forth prior art devices are specifically directed to problems inherently encountered in the packaging of rolls of adhesive tape or like objects wherein it is desired to package either one or a plurality of such objects together in a single package while at the same time eliminating the tendency for such objects to adhere together when arranged in a stacked array.